"are you going to comb your hair?"

Here is what Criseida got for asking Sam if he was going to comb his hair today...Just after asking him the question, he came downstairs and said "My hair was kinda long and I needed to cut it". After we told him we needed to fix it, this is the face he made.

After a little boo-hooing Sam decided to get his hair fixed and we went out to the back porch to do a little head shavin'Here is the finished product, note the oh so subtle divot in the middle of his hairline, I used the #1 blade, he didn't use any at all

I didn't want Sam to feel so horrible about his shaved head, so I decided to shave mine too so we could be twins. It was also a good excuse for me, because I've been wanting to shave my head. The sad part here is that after shaving a strip like Sam's you could barely even tell that I did it because the hair on my balding head is so thin..Here we both are, with our shaved melons ready for the NC summer. Hair is overrated anyway, especially when it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity.

Rainy day at the zoo

These are pictures of our trip to the zoo earlier this week. It was rainy and cool, but despite the weather, we made it thru the entire zoo. We ran from shelter to shelter. Our friends The Greenes met us there (thanks for letting us use your umbrella).This is right in the beginning of our trip before getting on the tram. We weren't completely soaked. That came later. I would like you to take a moment now to see that Rueben's mustache is gone. Yes, it is gone and hopefully for good. This is the giraffe exhibit. Sorry I didn't get any in the picture. Rueben is an exhibit all by himself. :) I'm melting!!! This is me being not happy about the weather. I should have known better and not blow dried my hair straight that morning. Oh well, live and learn...over and over and over...Who is that cool little boy?? We all wore sandals and we all had wet feet. Which I think is better than having wet socks. We got all the puddle jumping out of our system. For that day at least.

Cast iron Dumbo giving the boys a perfect spot for a photo shoot. Jackson is almost one year younger than Sam. They ran around like wild boys all day. There was a lot of "no running" "boys you are going to fall" "come back" "quit that" "stay close". We are such parents!

"Raindrops keep falling on my head"

Preparing for lift off.

We were in the middle of the jungle. This is how green the entire state is. Very beautiful! "look at daddy"
These yellow rain ponchos made it easy to keep track of the kids. Most of the time they were but yellow spurts of sunshine on a gloomy day. That is exactly what kids are.

This was right before the Oompa Loompa's came and rolled us away to the juicing area. I wonder what kind of juice we would produce? Better not to ask that question, I guess.

The Blancas family in rain ponchos and sandals. Always good times at the zoo. Hopefully next time will be nicer weather.

Sam's first dentist visit

I just want all of you to know how proud we are of Sam. He went in for his first teeth cleaning. I was really surprised at how well he behaved. Really. We have read books on going to the dentist before, so he had a basic understanding of what was going to happen. The ladies there loved him and he knew exactly how to ham it up for them. His incessant questioning dubbed him "Mr. Talker". And they only got a 30 minute taste of "his talking" Lucky them. Hahaha.

I love our little boy. He is growing up mighty fast. His favorite show right now is How It's Made. Whenever he sees something and has a question about it, he'll say "I wonder when they will put that on How It's Made so I can see how it works."

Take me out to the ball game...

Last Saturday we went out to Greensboro to watch the Grasshoppers play ball. It's a very nice field, with a "hill" area where you can spread a blanket and just chill. Right across the seating area is a large kid playground. Well, Rueben got to watch about 2 innings of the game, Sam sat for one of them and I pretty much ran after the kids and watched them play in the playground. So much for sitting down and watching America's favorite past time. In theory, going to the ballgame with the kids sounded fun. We can't wait to do it again.

No training wheels required.

Look mom!! No training wheels! It really is incredible how fast time passes. He is quickly reaching a childhood milestone. Sam has grown so much and so fast. We truly are cherishing these moments to the fullest. The snuggles, the kisses, the I love yous, the hand holding and the "mom/dad, you are my favorite". He still thinks we are the smartest and very good at knowing what he wants. I know that in the years to come, he will change, the affection will be more discreet, and we will cease being the smartest. But he will always be my sweet little boy....Now I can only pray that he doesn't take off on his bike without telling us (like his daddy did when he was younger).

I found this Dora bug on Craigslist for pretty cheap. It's practically new. We gave it to Isabelle for her birthday. She is finally warming up to driving it. She was scared at first, but as you can see, she is getting over her fears.

It's all Greek to me.

Getting ready for a fun filled day. My friend and I took the kids to the Greek Festival. It was fun and the food was phenomenal. I need to get a hold of some greek recipes. As always, it was nice to get out and enjoy the awesome weather. Rueben went to the library to study for a test, so he did not partake of the festivities. Too bad for him, but his superb (cough, cough) wife did bring him a gyro. OPA!!!
I wish I had a pencil thin mustache. The "Boston Blackie" kind. A two toned Ricky Ricardo jacket. And an autographed picture of Andy Devine...

License and Registration please...

And it changes...again. This time, he snipped the curly q's off. Seriously, he looks like Uncle Rico waiting to pull you over. It's hard to take him serious, between the mustache and the chronic cough he has developed. Oh yeah...honey, don't quit your day job, please.

Bounce U!!!

We took the kids to BounceU. It's this place with several huge inflatable toys. They had a blast sliding down, bouncing and jumping all over the place. They only take a certain number of children, so it's not crowded at all. It's a fun activity to do every other month or so.

Sam wasn't the only one having fun. I had to go up with Isabelle to show her the ropes...riiight...once she figured it out, she would climb up all by herself. Her "no fear" attitute is something to be scared of.

Here she comes. Probably the wrong choice of clothes, but WTH, she had fun.

Carnival Fun

Being cute as always. We spent a few hours at the carnival. I bought enough tickets for both her and Sam to ride. Isabelle went on one ride, and although it looked like she was having fun, she decided it was not for her. Everytime I would attempt to sit her in one, she would squirm and cry "off". Sam didn't mind, as he got to ride twice as many. It does look like she's having fun, right? Hanging on for dear life...
Whiskey the kitty. Rueben got a walking leash...for the cat. As you can imagine, there is not much walking the cat does. Video will follow soon cause it's quite comical. We did buy a special "furminator" like brush and was able to create a wig from all the hair we got off her. I am happy to report that she's not shedding as much indoor. Good for her!

My favorite part is that he sings it "the itsy, DITSY, spider" I love it!!!!

This is his way of tucking me in. He will pull the covers over me, sing me some songs, and then tell me a story about whatever I want to hear. I usually tell him I want a story about me shopping (hey! a girl can dream) and he gladly obliges. He's done this routine for the past week and believe you me, it gets me so tired that I fall asleep shortly after he stops. Too bad it doesn't work as well when I do it to him.

I'm too sexy for my (insert any object here)

This is the evolution of the mustache. Throughout the month, Rueben will be delighting us with new styles and ways to wear a mustache. As you can see, he has shaven his "soul patch" off. The sexy look is a freebie. DOWN TIGERRR!!!!

The festivals begin.

On Saturday, we went out to the Kernersville Spring Folly. It was pretty fun and the kids had a blast. Isa is big enough to go on certain rides. She loved the train. The little tiger stuffed toy was won by Rueben. She takes it with her everywhere.
Lowes had an area where you could take a kit and build it. Sam chose the steamroller. He did most the work hammering.

Assistant Isabelle handing out the parts.

Sam and his friend Will. Sam was pretty upset during the first half of the ride cause he couldn't get the helicopter to go up. He was crying and screaming until finally he figured it out. Pretty comical.

There is something going on every weekend. Most of it is free, so it makes for cheap entertainment. It's going to be a fun summer and we are eagerly looking forward to it. Rueben has 2 weeks left of class work. Hooray!!

It's Officially Here: MAYSTACHE!

My husband is an amazing guy. He's extremely intelligent, honest, forgiving and forthright without being offensive. He calls it like it is, good or bad, and he does it in a way that makes you think "this guy really cares about me" . He's gentle, caring, and loving. He is an exceptional husband and an even better father. I try to keep this on the DL (down low), because 1) I don't want every other girl out there chasing after him, 2) I don't want other married women to be jealous of me and 3) his ego doesn't need any more stroking. By no means is he perfect, but he is perfect for me. This year has been tough on all of us. There have been many changes. Thru it all, we have not lost sight of the end goal and the love that we have for each other. And that is what keeps us truckin'. So when he began this quest to grow out a mustache for the month of May, yes, I did kick and scream. But not too hard or too loud. I knew deep down that this was his way of decompressing and celebrating the end of his first year. As funny as he might look, he deserves it. And being the leader that he is, he got the rest of the guys in his class to participate in Maystache. Oh, and did I mention that he is extremely funny? Before

After

The result: It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. He was actually disappointed with my response. I should have kept playing along, but the truth is, I actually like it. It's different. It's amusing. It's cool. He looks like one of the Village People. All he needs are his leathers. He didn't like it when I told him this, he'd much rather look like Doc Holliday. I love the way he can't go by a mirror without looking at himself and laughing. Not many of us have that freedom. You all need to know how proud he is of himself.

After the mustache wax.

It's going to be a very looong month. :)